Hokkaido Izakaya - Okay

Closed

I was naturally excited when learning about the newly opened Japan Town in Wisma Atria. Since I love the collection of Japanese establishments at a corner on Level 3 in Takashimaya, especially Ginza Kuroson. After avoiding the initial hype and the long queues that came with it, I got down to suss out the place.

Okay, first thing to clarify. This place is very different from the Japanese theme corner in Takashimaya. One is of Japanese lifestyle concept while another is based on Japanese Izakaya. I guess it is obvious which is which. Fourth level of Wisma Atria is like the gathering of different foodstalls where kopitiam occupies one side and another is dominated by Japan Town. Actually, I don't enjoy walking through the crowded kopitiam to get to Japan Town. That is just me as I like to avoid crowds in general. In fact, I feel that another Japanese corner, Emporium Shokuhin, is way better than this one due to the sheer variety and better ambience there.

Queues still formed outside the restaurants in Japan Town, but thankfully, it is just a short wait for us since we arrived earlier than the opening time.

I had ordered the Negitoro Don. The good news is that there is no fishy smell in the minced tuna belly since low quality tuna smells especially fishy and tastes exceptionally bad. So I can say that decently fresh fish is used. But the problem is that I had much better Negitoro in Shinji and Kuroson. Of course, it is not fair to compare with one Michelin Star Shinji. Though I will go to Kuroson for Negitoro instead with the ten dollars difference. The tuna belly meat here is not as smooth, oily and flavourful due to the lack of fats in the tuna. Luckily, there is the runny egg to help enhancing the overall taste.

I had taken bites off my guy's Smoked Salmon Belly. It is surprisingly pretty good. The smokey flavour imbued on the fish helps to balance out that strong typical taste of cooked salmon meat that we hate. The slabs of meat are so well-done that the smokey flavour is very evident and pronounced yet not a slight burnt bit can be found in the meat. My guy said that this is the best cooked salmon he ever had. Well, he had eaten cooked salmon in Michelin Star/s restaurants before. I do agree with him on this. But the lowlight of this dish is that a fish bone is found in one of the slabs. I was expecting that the chefs would clear the bones like they do for salmon sashimi, you know.

Appetizers are just quite okay. I had better ones in other Japanese restaurants.

Service is okay. I think the main issue I have with the place is the overall ambience of Japan Town. The dining space of Hokkaido Izakaya is pretty decent, with sufficent space set up between each table.

While I was not blown away by the food here, the place is certainly decent enough for a casual, affordable meal.

My Thoughts: Okay

This restaurant is no longer in operation.

The Signature Patisserie - Not bad Muffins

Since the muffins were brought by a colleague on my behalf, I cannot comment about the service and ambience. So let's get straight to the food.

The best muffin of the lot got to be the Cream Cheese one. The already moist and fluffy chocolate muffin is imbued with an extra creaminess that makes a muffin a league above the others. The chocolate muffin features the same moist, fluffy texture, I was a tad disappointed to find a nugget of softened chocolate in the centre instead of molten chocolate. Guess I love Lava Cakes too much until I expect this in chocolate desserts at every turn.

Blueberry muffin and Raisins one have coarser and drier texture. So it is a meh for me. Go for the chocolate muffins instead. The redeeming part of the Blueberry muffin is the dollop of blueberry sauce that imparts some moisture to the cake.

For $1.80 each, this is pretty value-for-money. Though out of the four muffins I had tried, I will only go for the Cream Cheese one again.

My Thoughts: Okay

Check Signature Patisserie's website for locations and contact numbers of their branches.

Henri Charpentier Orchard Central - A Great Addition to Orchard's Cafes

I do feel that Orchard Road suffers from a drought of cafes offering premium cakes. Aside from Joe and Dough, Patties and Wiches, and Flor for takeaways, I cannot think of any others that impress me. So Henri Charpentier's foray into Orchard is very welcomed, in the opinion of a dessert lover like me. And given the fact that the pastry chef hard at work at his station hails from Japan, I am hyped about this place.

The Strawberry Roll is one cake that I can order again and again. Why? Because this roll is made with the generous proportion of cream, exactly as I love it. The light strawberry cream, infused with flavour of real strawberries, fills up the entire centre with the roll, with the moist, fluffy sponge lining the perimeter. The best part is that this cake is only $4.60. Given the quality of the roll, it is absolutely value for money.

The chocolate cake is not as wallet friendly, but this is seriously decadent stuff. Chocolate cream in different consistency sandwiched between thin cake sponges, and coupled with pure chocolate coating, this cake has rich chocolatey taste and great varied texture. This is definitely one of the better chocolate cakes I have.

The Pudding Chou is another delight to tuck into. The texture of the puff is firm, and packed inside are wholesome vanilla custard and fresh cream. The combination of custard and cream works wonderfully to impart extra variety to the taste while maintaining the balance of the flavours of each component.

The counter itself does a great job highlighting the glorious array of madeleines and cakes, tempting passers-by to stop and take a look. Though the place has very few tables. And the plastic forks provided are too dainty to cut into the cakes. These are the two areas in need of improvements.

The cake selection is noticeably different from the one in the branch at Dempsey Hill. The cakes here are more wallet friendly. The vibe is more casual. So I am all eager to visit this place again.

My Thoughts: Sweet Bliss!

Nearest car park: Orchard Central car park 

Nearest MRT: Somerset 

181 Orchard Road

#01-18 Orchard Central

Singapore

Contact No: 6479 5518

Bornga - Enjoyable Korean Fare

Closed

It is by pure chance that I stepped into Bornga for my lunch since I happened to hang around Vivocity and was in no mood for either Chinese cuisine or Italian cuisine. I did not expect much, but I was quite pleasantly surprised to find that this place serves pretty good grilled pork.

While the side dishes are very ordinary and do little to refresh the palates and whet the appetite, the spicy grilled pork, Dwaeji Gohchujang Barbecue, get the thumbs-up from me. Each moist, thin, fresh pork slice is saturated with flavours of the spicy specialty sauce. It is hearty dish to tuck into.

But when I saw the plate of sliced, raw pork served to the table beside me, I was glad that I did not order that. Because the slices are so thick, and so far, my experiences with eating such thick slices of meat, especially at Korean restaurants, were all nightmares. Of course that is just me only.

With the scenic view of the harbour beside Vivocity, the ambience is pretty good for a casual meal. And I'm glad that the oil and smoke from another table did not suffuse to my side. Service is not bad, the staff did gain extra points by bidding farewell to patrons.

If I happen to be at Vivocity, I sure do not mind dropping by to have a meal.

My Thoughts: Not Bad

Nearest car park: Vivocity's car park

Nearest MRT: Habourfront

#02-123 Vivocity

1 Habourfront Avenue

Singapore

Contact No: 63768268

SweetSpot - Chic Place to hang out at

SweetSpot is like this cafe that is on my watch list for the longest time, but I never have the time to trudge down to MBS to check it out. I finally did, and I must say that this is a chic place to hang out at, due to modern ambience, completed with bar top style tables and high chairs.

Chocolate Paradigm is all about chocolate. Imagine many types of chocolate incorporated into this mousse cake, this will sure please many chocolate lovers. Though I am someone who likes my cake to have that extra dimension in taste, so I cannot say I got bowled over by this cake.

Mille Feuille is consisted of generous dollops of mildly sweet fresh vanilla cream sandwiched between layers of puff pastries. I like the vanilla cream a lot since it is full of creamy goodness with just the right sweetness. But the cake on the whole is not exactly mind-blowing since the cake is all about the cream only.

I love the service here. The young lady staff immediately came up to me when I went in to browse at the cakes. She is very friendly and engaged in casual chat with me while packing my orders.

The packaging is very impressive due to use of the clear plastic box. This makes the cake a perfect cute little gift for someone.

I will come here if I want to chill out or get a cake as gift.

My Thoughts: Pretty Good

Nearest car park: Marina Bay Sands' car park

Nearest MRT: Bayfront

Marina Bay Sands Tower 3

10 Bayfront Avenue

Singapore

Contact No: 66888588

Waku Ghin Patisserie Platine - Luxurious Treats

That lunch at Waku Ghin has always one of the defining moments of my gastronomic journey. European cuisine prepared with Japanese philosophy: simplicity and use best premium ingredients. While Ghin cheesecake did not blow me away at that time, I was still very excited when Waku Ghin launched Patisserie Platine to cater to dessert lovers' whims. Thus I went to Rise lounge of MBS with high expectations to try out Platine's offerings.

I shall chronicle the experience instead of writing about the cakes in order of preference.

As it had been a long time since I tasted Ghin cheesecake, I did not have a defined idea on how the Black Forest will taste like when first tucking into it. I am pleased by the first mouthful. The taste of cherry is distinct to add subtle kick and dimension to compete with the dark chocolate base for attention but not too strong to overwhelm the delicate flavours of the pistachio mousse. It is quite interesting but not mind-blowing. Things are taken up a notch when I pop in the liquor-infused cherry and eat the main part of the cake with the roll of milk chocolate mousse on top. I love liquor in cakes, for it just makes the experience of savouring the cakes exciting and decadent, so this definitely get thumbs-up from me. If only there are more of these cherries.... The creamy, rich chocolatey flavour and slight bitterness in the mousse roll on top adds extra variation to the overall taste that makes it so much better. This cake definitely hints at a promising start of the journey.

Coconut Mousse with Mango and Passion Fruit looks absolutely pretty, with those lovingly carved dainty round mango slices. The second I set my eyes on it and read the description, I wanted to try it. I want so much to fall in love with it. However, it does not match up to my expectations. While the texture is perfect, the molten mango centre is a tad bit too sour and too sharp in taste, eclipsing the delicate taste of coconut. I was hoping that this creation will be like Mad about Sucre's Coco Citron where lemon and coconut can amazingly be matched together without either taste overwhelming another, or K ki's Antoinette whose mango heart is blissfully sweet, complementing the white chocolate wonderfully. Alas, it is not. Though for those who love some zest in their confectionaries, this is a good choice.

Strawberry Cheesecake is the last cake I chose from the dazzling array of beautiful cakes. I did not expect much from it after Coconut Mousse cake and my initial thought was, it's just another cheesecake. Oh boy, I was so wrong about this cake. The cheese mousse is a league above its competitions due to the slightly salty and distinctive nutty flavour of premium cheese. And when it is eaten with the mildly tart strawberry mousse, I truly understand why strawberry is the best fruit to incorporate into cheesecake. This is a match made in heaven. And given the perfect gossamer texture that is typical of Platine's cakes, I find no fault with this creation. I personally feel this is better than Ghin Cheesecake. But this is entirely my personal opinion. So is this the best Strawberry Cheesecake I ever had? Yes, yes, yes, for now.

The service is great. I am impressed. They are full of smiles, promptly respond to my requests and fill up my warm water. Sometimes they even make the effort to enquire on whether I need anything. Though take note that I go at a time where the crowd is not in yet. I like the casual, semi-alfresco, with the benefit of air-conditioning, environment—perfect for lounging with friends or reading a book while indulging in the wonderful cakes.

So will I go back for another round of indulgence in desserts? Of course, especially for the Strawberry Cheesecake, and I am hyped to try other cakes in the repertoire.

My Thoughts: Amazing!

Nearest car park: Marina Bay Sands' car park

Nearest MRT: Bayfront

RISE Lounge

Marina Bay Sands Tower 1

10 Bayfront Avenue

Singapore

Contact No: 66885568